Thread by @HeatherMoAndCo, Canadians in general aren’t being vigilant enough about what is being read [...]

Canadians in general aren’t being vigilant enough about what is being read & shared online.

A thread.

Far too many of us are falsely equating legitimate news outlets with dedicated propaganda/disinformation sites. #cdnpoli #cdnmedia

#RebelNews #ThePostMillennial #TheBuffaloTribune #BuffaloChronicle & other similar sites that have cropped up in recent years, are not the equivalent of legitimate news organizations that care about fact checking, evidence & sources. #cdnpoli #cdnmedia

These so-called “news” sites are, instead, self-serving propaganda outlets dedicated to advancing a political agenda.

They disguise who funds & backs them. Often claiming they run on “small individual donations”, yet refuse to disclose any verifiable proof. #cdnpoli #cdnmedia

These online “news” sites, are easy conduits for #DarkMoney that bypass election laws to influence elections & public opinion. These sites are a weapon of information operations. https://www.law.utoronto.ca/blog/faculty/foreign-dark-money-taints-canadian-parliamentary-proceeding

https://north99.org/2018/02/08/dark-money-conservative-politics-shadowy-american-nonprofit-bankrolling-canadas-conservative-movement/

#cdnpoli #cdnmedia

#cdnmedia is problematic enough with its #Conservative bias in reporting, largely due to consolidation of ownership by wealthy private interests. https://twitter.com/heathermoandco/status/1284981822938648576?s=21
But over the past few years this newer dangerous problem has emerged, in addition to these #cdnmedia issues.

https://twitter.com/heathermoandco/status/1284981822938648576?s=21

There is a symbiotic relationship between these disinformation “news” sites & social media. Each feeds off the other. A feedback loop gets created in the messaging, adding legitimacy to disinformation & propaganda.
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/860369744/social-media-usage-is-at-an-all-time-high-that-could-mean-a-nightmare-for-democr #cdnpoli #cdnmedia

Social Media Usage Is At An All-Time High. That Could Mean A Nightmare For Democracy

Studies show that social media polarizes its users. The pandemic means more Americans are on it than ever. What does that mean to a nation attempting to govern itself?

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/860369744/social-media-usage-is-at-an-all-time-high-that-could-mean-a-nightmare-for-democr

These sites not only represent #DarkMoney influence, they represent amplifiers of foreign malign influence operations.

Foreign intelligence services can feed targeted news stories to outlets like these knowing their susceptibilities. https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1239000

#cdnppli #cdnmedia

Russian internet trolls hired U.S. journalists to push their news website, Facebook says

Facebook said the website is run by people affiliated with the Internet Research Agency, which inflamed political tensions in the 2016 election through social media.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1239000

Then there are the troll factories. These are inexpensive ways to engage in malign influence, with little to no consequences. Fake troll accounts are regular amplifiers of stories from these “news” sites, thus blurring the lines between foreign & domestic operations. #cdnpoli

But it’s not only state-actor affiliated intelligence operations. There are also the troll-factories-for-hire in locations around the world: Philippines ( https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-11-19/troll-armies-routine-in-philippine-politics-coming-here-next), India, Macedonia & elsewhere. #cdnpoli #infosec #cdnmedia

Troll armies, a growth industry in the Philippines, may soon be coming to an election near you

As public anger mounted last year over delayed plans to shake up the Philippines’ outage-plagued telecommunications sector, angry comments and one-star ratings flooded a government-run Facebook page.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-11-19/troll-armies-routine-in-philippine-politics-coming-here-next

These are separate, & in addition to, the likes of Russian troll farms in multiple countries, including surprising locations like Russian operations in Ghana ( https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/04/10/russian-troll-farm-ghana-ward-pkg-go-there-vpx.cnn). #cdnpoli #infosec #cdnmedia

See surprising location of Russian troll factory - CNN Video

Russia is interfering with the 2020 US presidential election, but not where you might expect. CNN's Clarissa Ward heads to Ghana, where a Russian troll farm has been based, and confronts people on...

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/04/10/russian-troll-farm-ghana-ward-pkg-go-there-vpx.cnn

The combination of foreign malign influence operations & domestic propaganda & disinformation campaigns, makes for a potent malicious combination that has a ripple effect throughout the Canadian electorate. #cdnpoli #cdnmedia

There doesn’t have to be ‘collusion’ between these foreign & domestic players. When multiple entities are spreading similar toxic messaging, it results in a cumulative effect.
#Democracies around the world are on life support.

Be vigilant about what you read & share. #cdnpoli

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